Jackie’s MSP journey started straight out of high school when a recruiter got her an MSP interview after she became a finalist in a game development competition in her last year. The role has taken her to Seattle, to attend the Microsoft Build Developers Conference in May, as well as to Taiwan for the Asia Pacific MSP Summit this month.

Fitting in work alongside her studies, Jackie and her team run the Microsoft Student Accelerator Programme, which provides students the opportunity to learn and develop skills in New Zealand’s fast-paced IT industry.

The youngest in the MSP team, Jackie was one of 48 picked from 2,500 globally, and the only MSP from New Zealand to go on the all-expenses paid trip to the conference in Seattle.

Jackie said the MSPs had front row seats when they met Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft.

“It was a life-changing experience and an amazing opportunity. As university students, we never would have dreamt about being able to have front-row seats at the keynote speech and attend workshops presented by industry-leading experts,” she said.

Jackie said her role with Microsoft has opened up new doors for her.

“I want to do something in the health and technical space, so being a health science student and being involved with Microsoft is a great experience for me. I am very happy and thankful to have been given the opportunity to be fully immersed in both industries,” she said.

Later this month, Jackie and some of the New Zealand MSP team will attend the Microsoft Asia-Pacific summit. This will be the first edition of the Asia-wide MSP Summit and will welcome 100 top MSPs from 12 countries.

“The summit offers us an opportunity to network, learn from each other, equip ourselves with the skills to launch our professional career, and most all, make friends for a lifetime in this cross-cultural gathering,” Jackie said.

Jackie says she is thankful to the AUT Scholarship Office. “I’m grateful to Sue and Emiliana for their continuous support and the opportunity to be the President of the Scholarship Society this year,” she said.